Dark Angel
by scorpion22
Summary: The Hotel Cortez has a new owner. How will the residents of the hotel take to her? Could it be she is just what they've been waiting for. Read and Review as she worms her ways into their hearts, one heart in particular, when she makes the acquaintance of the Cortez's original owner. M for later chapters. I own nothing.


I own nothing except our dear Victoria and a deep obsession with James Patrick March. Please, review, and let me know what you think.

Chapter 1

Torias POV…

I met him at 18, fell in love with him at 19, and left him at 20.

"Some never know love or experience half the life I've lived in the span of three years" I let the thought cross my mind more then I should, but it's true, for as I tell my story now, I replay every memory thinking that same thought again. You might not believe me when I say it came out of the blue. It did though, it all happened without me every intending it to, and even now I don't know how. All I know as I look back at the girl, I was is that that girl isn't me anymore. That girl died sometime before I left him, sometimes after I fell in love with him, and now as my story is told, I won't lie. I'm not sure who I am or who I ever was. Somehow that man made me change. Some for the good, some for the bad, but as I'm telling you this now, I have no regrets.

"Some never know love or experience half the life I've lived in the span of three years. And yet, during those three years, I laughed, I smiled in a way I didn't think I knew how, and sometimes I cried too. And yet, still, I have no regrets. And I never will" I let that thought cross my mind even more, far, far more then I should, and that thought is truer than the one before it; it is a thought I never wish to lose as each memory replays in my mind.

Because and I know this last part may sound cliché, but I don't care. That thought is my favorite thought, because it is the truest thought, I think I've ever had. Because those three years with him were the highlight of my life. They were my only joyful memories. Those memories remind me that despite what came later, I had the time of my life, and what is more, they remind me that I still love him. That I always will. How could I ever regret that? The first time I stepped into the hotel Cortez, I was breathless; it was the kind of place that seemed to have its own heartbeat and I liked that as I walked over to a bald woman who appeared to be reading a book. I knew the reputation of the place. That a serial killer had built it and that ghosts wandered the halls. Maybe that's where its appeal had come from, I didn't really know as I approached the woman getting her attention as I pulled the paperwork from my bag.

"Hello" I exclaimed laying the papers down as she did the same with her book.

"I'm Liz Taylor, can I help you" said the woman shaking my hand.

"How nice to meet you, I'm Victoria Hayworth. I'm the new owner of this hotel…but you can call me Toria. Everyone does" I exclaimed unable to contain my excitement as Liz removed her glasses her brows rising. She seemed stunned and I could hardly blame her as I slid the papers across for her to look at. She didn't spare a word and when she looked at me again, I didn't know if it was with awe or with pity.

"Sweetie, you can't be no more then eighteen. How could you possibly own a hotel?" Liz said it harshly without meaning to, I could tell just by the look on her face that she wasn't trying to be mean.

"I know, you're right. I'm just a girl, I'm only eighteen, but I can assure you the money I paid for this hotel was very real. But if you would allow me to, I don't want to hide anything" I whispered the words to her as I would a confidant and though I didn't know it that would only be the first of the many times that I would do so and the first of the many times she would give me a look that kept my words flowing.

"This hotel is beautiful. It's historic and I don't want to change a single thing about it. It already has everything I need. Because all I want is a place to lock myself away, to be myself, and to be left alone. I'm a Hayworth…you have no idea what that entails…most of the time it's being in the public eyes. This hotel could help me escape from all that. Because everybody wanders about my family, about our truth and our lies, and I'm tired of it. All I want now is to be free to be a regular human being that's why when I heard through the inner circles of my life that Will Drakes company wished to sell the hotel, I jumped to buy it. It seemed to be my chance at freedom" I told my story to her in a hurried whisper and as I looked into her eyes as I told it, I knew she was listening. It was the first time anyone had truly listened to me in my life without any money leaving my bank account. It took my breath away as it touched me in a way that even now, I cannot fully describe.

"Hayworth…your father was that oil man all over the news. The one they accused of killing his wife, but they could never prove it" exclaimed Liz.

"Yes…that was him, and no…I don't know if he did it. He is said to have killed my mother, but he killed himself before he could tell anyone the truth, even me. As his only daughter, all his money went to me, and it came with a price. I can't walk the streets without a thousand eyes on me, so as soon as I turned eighteen, I began looking for someplace to hide, and I found the Cortez. I used some of that money in an effort to buy my freedom. I only hope this can all work out" I exclaimed taking a deep breath as I finished, not wanting her sympathy, but seeing it in her eyes as another woman appeared out of nowhere. She was short with large glasses and gray hair, she eyes me suspiciously as she approached the counter.

"Who's this?" she said her tone cautious. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself this time, Liz with her hand on my arm did it for me.

"Toria, this is Iris. Iris, this is Toria Hayworth. She just bought the hotel" exclaimed Liz making me smile, I could already tell we were going to be great friends.

"Bought the hotel" Iris said it in disbelief, but she wasn't allowed to finish. Liz shushed her as if it didn't matter at all and I couldn't help it. I laughed, a full light-hearted laugh that I couldn't remember ever experiencing before.

"It's a long story that I can tell you later over a drink. Speaking of which, we should have a drink together…after you take a look around" whispered Liz laying her hand across mine. I could feel myself settling in with these people and it felt right as I pushed my papers back into my bag.

"That sounds great, but I'm afraid I have to go meet with my lawyers to finalize a few things. Perhaps I could come back and then we could have that drink. Besides, I want to meet everyone else too. I want to assure them that I mean no harm to them or the hotel. That I mean to assure that this hotel has a future. Is there any way we could arrange a meeting of some sort…I mean, I'm going to be living here" I stopped midsentence looking all around as if expecting all the ghosts to be hanging from the banisters, it was only as Liz placed her hand over mine that I came back to myself?

"Of course, that can be arranged, but I should warn you, honey…some of the ghosts are…deadlier then others" said Liz choosing her words carefully.

"I figured…I'm going to go handle that now" I exclaimed feeling giddy as I left with a wave.

"That girl wasn't what I was expecting, but I think I like her" whispered Liz as I was walking away the knowledge of her words making me smile. If I was going to become part of this hotel, I needed the people within it to accept me, and her words seemed like the beginning to my road to that. I didn't care if Iris respond; I was convinced I could make her come around as I exited the building that I now owned.

"What will happen when you meet the original owner though" I remember having the thought as I left pretending not to notice the shadow that was in all reality a man as I did. I knew who he was. Who that shadow was, and I got chills at the thought of meeting such a man.

"This could be interesting" I thought as I stepped into my car, telling my driver where to go, and watching the city streets as he drove. James Patrick March. The mere thought of his name made me shiver, but not for the reason's others would have thought. Not because he was a serial killer, the greatest to have ever lived, but because he seemed larger then life. He was the original owner of the hotel, the man whose approval I needed if I ever wanted this to work out in my favor, and I kept that in mind as we pulled up in front of my lawyer's office. James Patrick March, I knew his name, his legacy, but as I walked into the office, I didn't really know him. Only a few useless facts. I knew I should be scared at the idea of meeting him or at least intimidated, but I felt none of that. James Patrick March, I couldn't wait to meet him; I couldn't help wondering if he would measure up to the picture of him that I had let form in my head. Part of me couldn't help being thrilled.

James' POV…

As I listened in on the conversation being had at the desk, I was in disbelief, this little slip of a girl owned my hotel now, but she wasn't the threat Will Drake had been. This girl, who already seemed to me to be wise beyond her years, she wanted to preserve my hotel, and keep it safe. She didn't want to change a thing and would never want to tear it down. This girl, a woman from a modern world, I failed to understand wanted to protect my hotel, my world from that world. I appreciated that even as I watched her leave, looming in the darkness. I could appreciate that as I watched her go, but what was more, I could appreciate the lady herself. As my eyes ran over her in the lights of the hotel, I saw something in her that I didn't understand, but I wanted to. She intrigued me and the longer my gaze lingered on her the more intrigued I became. I could sense a hint of something within her.

She appeared to be just a girl, but something told me she had survived an existence that most would not have. Her eyes, the mere sound of her voice seemed to have secrets that I found I wanted to penetrate. Who was this girl? What was her agenda? I didn't know, but I wanted to. I wanted to look into those eyes and listen to the sound of her voice. To hear her story, the unaltered unabridged version. I wanted her secrets to fall from her lips and into my ears to become my own. And I didn't even understand why.

"That was most interesting" I hummed appearing before the desk in the place where she had been the door still closing behind her.

"She bought my hotel, did she? Very interesting indeed" I continued looking first at Ms. Taylor then Iris as if awaiting an explanation. They only looked at me at first, as if trying to decide who should speak first. I wasn't surprised when Liz Taylor won out.

"Yes, apparently Will Drakes estate was quite eager to get rid of it. I think though that this could be a good thing. She doesn't seem to mean us any harm. She could be quite the asset to us, someone to represent the hotel on the outside" exclaimed Liz waving a puff of smoke away as if left my lips floating into the air. I didn't respond to her wistful words still watching the place where the girl had been. I would have to make a frank appraisal of her myself before any decisions were made.

I didn't know what to say in response, so I simply turned to the ladies.

"Well then, you had best arrange that meeting as requested" I said walking away without a word.

"We'll see if the young lady returns after all" I called behind me, part of me feeling torn as the thought crossed my mind; I wasn't sure whether I wanted her to return or not, for in my mind, I didn't know what the consequences of her arrival would be. Liz was right when she said that the girl could be an asset. We did need someone to protect the hotel from the outside world, but I wasn't sure yet if this girl was the one to do that. She was so young, I had no idea what she was capable of, and what was more, I had no idea who she was. She was an unknown, dangerous when presented in any situation. So, once the requested meeting was all set up, I was the first to arrive, so to speak. I lingered in the shadows of the Blue Parrot Lounge and awaited the young girls return, and she didn't disappoint. Ms. Hayworth presented herself before I ever had a chance to linger in the shadows.

When she did, I watched her still, part of me getting a thrill at the sight of her.

"She is quite beautiful" I thought allowing myself a moment for my eyes to appreciate her luscious curves. Where before she had been dressed in a simple business suit, now she looked the true part of a lady. She appeared almost out of my own time in her elegant attire; if anything, it drew me to her all the more. Her hair was curled around her shoulders, her face lovely in the light covered in a light sheen of powder and red, red lips. Her figure wasn't small, but ample. She had an hour glass figure that seemed to compliment her in all the right places. That was made clear as she appeared dressed in a tight pencil skirt that hugged her to accentuate all her curves. Even more so by the wine-colored blouse that seemed to cling to her skin even as it was light as air pushing her ample cleavage to the forefront in a rather enticing way. She was truly beautiful; the thought couldn't be denied as I watched her cross the room from my place in the darkness.

"She could be a queen" I didn't realize the thought until I had it, my eyes still on her as she stopped at the bar greeting Ms. Taylor as she took a seat her heels silent against the floor. As I approached, she removed several papers from her bag, and she didn't even seem to notice when I sat down next to her.

"Good evening" I said looking into her brilliant green eyes when they met my own.

"Hello…it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. March" she said extending her hand. I didn't take it though.

I found myself taken aback. I hadn't expected her to know who I was.

"You know who I am?" I said liking it when she smiled.

"Yes. James Patrick March. You own this hotel or well…I guess, you could say we co-own it now, but you built this hotel to be your murder palace in 1925. You used it quite brilliantly until the police finally discovered you. You took your own life along with that of your maid…you're one of the greatest serial killers to have ever lived" she said it with such enthusiasm that I couldn't hide my smile. This girl was getting on my good side rather easily.

"Interesting, you know your facts, my dear…yet I know nothing about you" I exclaimed smiling when she offered me her hand again.

"I did my homework before I bought your hotel, Mr. March. I'm Victoria Hayworth, though I'd like it very much if you'd call me Toria. All my friends do…and I do hope we could be friends" whispered Toria as I took her hand this time. I placed a kiss on it, loving the way she blushed when I did so. Liz set out drinks before us and watching her as she took a drink, I could tell she was waiting for me to continue.

"How'd you come to be so interested in my hotel?" I said it without looking at her.

"Your hotel is notorious, Mr. March. It's haunted, people come here to die in a way…when I heard that the Drake estate wanted to sell, I thought it was perfect" answered Toria catching my eye.

"Perfect for what exactly?" I exclaimed turning to find her already looking at me. We stared each other down, neither of us sure about how we felt about the other, but then she leaned in real close, so only I could hear her. Her voice sounded like wind in the beginnings of a storm.

"I'm assuming you heard everything I told Liz before. My father was Jack Hayworth, a man who built himself up from nothing, and I am his only daughter. My father was more than a self-made man though, Mr. March, he is said to have been like you…he was a killer or at least that's what they say. He died before they could prove anything, but he was my father, he left every dime he had to me. I'm eighteen now, I'm an heiress worth over 400 million dollars, and now everyone's going to come. They're going to come to see what they can get from me and that is the last thing I want…I just want to be left alone. Where better to go then here, the hotel Cortez, where no one will bother me as I live among the dead" whispered Toria not backing away as she finished merely taking a breath before settling into her seat.

She looked at me as if awaiting my response and as I stood up, I let my hands find her throat, part of me wanting to see her response. Because for some reason I didn't want to kill her, because for some reason I was drawn to her. I became even more drawn when she only looked at me, not even scared, even when I began to squeeze.

"As you said Ms. Hayworth, people come here to die. What makes you any different?" I whispered feeling a thrill when she dared to smile. Moving her hands from where they had come to cover my own, Toria didn't look scared, but triumphant as she smiled up at me.

Those same hands moved to the contract laid across the bar and moving it into my view, she pointed to a specific line of text.

"Because if I die while still the owner of this hotel, the hotel will be torn down, and the land where it stands donated to the city of Los Angeles" rasped Toria smiling as my eyes widened and my hands left her throat. I grabbed the contract from her hands, reading it over only to look at her as Liz replaced her finished drink.

"It's not the only copy" said Toria twirling the olive as it sat speared in her drink. She had her back to me now, her back straight as her brown curls floated atop her shoulders.

I returned to the seat at her side, laying the contract down between us, I downed my own drink receiving a new one almost immediately.

"You're a very smart girl, Ms. Hayworth. You've managed to assure your own safety within my hotel" I whispered eyeing her once more. She turned to me in that moment, her eyes held a type of glee that I couldn't remember seeing in anyone since I'd died.

"From you, I'll accept that compliment with pride. Though, I would love it if you'd call me, Toria. I had hoped we could get along famously" whispered Toria smiling almost wistfully. I didn't get a chance to respond as the other inhabitants of the hotel chose to join us.

Liz took centerstage, pounding on the bar to get everyone's attention.

"People! I have an announcement. It came to our attention earlier today that the Cortez has a new owner. She is here to speak with you all. Toria" announced Liz gesturing for her to take over. Toria stood up, moving to the center of the room where everyone could see her, and smiling she began to speak.

"Hello, my name is Victoria Hayworth, and as Liz explained, I now own the hotel Cortez—" said Toria smiling as she looked at each face that surrounded her before seeming to focus on me. Her smile seemed to brighten before falling at her ride interruption.

"My company would never sell this hotel. You're a liar" snapped Will Drake making every eye fall between the two.

"I can assure you, Mr. Drake, I did. I have the paperwork, Liz has seen it, and I have a contract. Your company sold it to me for the small sum of fifty thousand dollars said Toria simply staring him down. Will Drake didn't say another word as she continued.

"Again, my name is Victoria Hayworth…I intend none of you any harm. It is my only wish to protect and preserve this hotel. I would hope that in doing so I could be friends with each of you. Liz and I, I think, have already become friendly, and Mr. March and I have been getting acquainted, I hope the same will be true of the rest of you" said Toria stopping to gauge their reaction.

"What stops you from becoming one of us, lady?" said Sally taking a draw from her cigarette. I chose that moment to rise coming to the young girl's side.

She seemed surprised when I did so, as did everyone else, and raising the contract high, I made my opinion known.

"Ms. Hayworth just withstood my hands around her throat. As I squeezed her life away, she made me aware of a key clause within their contract. If she should die while still the own of the Cortez, the building will be torn down, and the land given to the city, so if we wish to keep our home, we will leave her unharmed" I exclaimed hearing as they murmured their response. After a moment, I slammed the contract down on the bar gaining each of their attention once more.

"People…I am the king of this hotel and my word is law. I've spoken with this young lady and have determined it is in our best interest to let this woman join our little group. She means us no harm and could be an asset to us as someone to protect this hotel outside the building. I say that she isn't to be touched and if anyone seeks to disobey me…they will be dealing with me personally" I spoke each word so not a one would be missed. As I did, I stepped forward leveling my gaze on Sally knowing that she would be the one to try to defy me. My creature appeared as a shadow next to me and as it did, I looked her in the eye.

That alone told her how serious I truly was. I held her gaze, but a moment before returning to Ms. Hayworth's side. I offered her my arm and meeting her gaze next, I enjoyed the smile we shared.

"May I escort you to the exit…Toria?" I whispered seeing as her smile broadened at the use of her preferred name.

"Yes, thank you, so much, Mr. March" whispered Toria moving with me to the stairs.

"Please, call me James" I said almost immediately making her smile only widen. As we walked, we were silent at first before we stood at the door the eyes of those, we had left on us both.

"When do you plan to move?" I whispered meeting her gaze.

"As soon as possible. I want to be away from prying eyes as I'm sure you can understand" said Toria receiving a nod and looking down our eyes met as I took her hand. Our eyes lingered together, but a moment before I brought her hand to my lips once more.

Again, she blushed a deep scarlet that I could only find charming.

"Well, I look forward to your move in date, my dear Toria…I think you might be correct in seeing a future friendship between us" I whispered letting my lips linger against her skin before letting her hand drop.

"Thank you, James, I do hope we can be" said Toria turning away from me then to exit the hotel. As she left, it didn't escape my notice that she had called me James for the first time. My name sounded different on her lips, I didn't know how or even pretend to understand it as I watched the place where she had been.

I returned to the bar where only Liz remained, a fresh drink already waiting. The contract lay on the bar still and folding it, I slipped it into my jacket before downing my drink. As Liz refilled it, she gave me a look I knew all too well.

"What is it, Ms. Taylor?" I hummed lighting a cigarette. Placing her hands on the bar, she didn't answer at first, but she seemed to know something I myself did not.

"You like her" said Liz simply making me stop a puff of smoke leaving my lips.

"She's interesting…and you know how I do enjoy a good mystery" I hummed making the woman smile as she walked away with a mere shake of her head.


End file.
